Human rights on the National Curriculum
4 February 2009, 02:45PM
©AI
- Submission on the National Goals of Schooling
- Submission on the National Curriculum
- Background on the Submissions by Amnesty International Australia
Some quotes from the submissions
Human rights represent the conditions that people need to flourish
Human rights and human rights education need to be incorporated in the National Goals of Schooling both in a strong, explicit, and overarching vision about the moral and civic purposes of education, as well as in an exposition of the instrumental role of education.
Amnesty International Australia considers that this revision of the National Goals for Schooling should be seen in the context of the much talked about opportunities for an ‘education revolution’.
- This revolution will necessarily encourage our young people to be literate and numerate, but will they understand the critical role of human rights, dignity and respect in human health and well-being?
- Will they be well-informed and articulate about key local and global issues that matter and be able to see these issues in human rights terms?
- Will they be confident of their ability to make a difference?
- Will they be equipped with understandings, skills and dispositions to work individually and with others to take action for a better world?
AIA believes that the framing paper needs a strong rationale, spelling out the values and assumptions that underpin it.
Including such a rationale is an exciting opportunity to describe and shape our hopes for our young people. It should cover more than demographics, pathways, links to Australia’s economic future, and four areas of the curriculum. It should say what we, as a community, aspire to for our young people in the 21st century, talking as much about values, beliefs and dispositions as about skills and understandings.
Human rights should form a central part of the rationale, both as a statement of values for Australian society, and as a reflection of our understanding of the conditions which are essential for promoting human development. This is elaborated below.
Schooling is THE one common experience of all Australians, and creating a new visionary and aspirational statement in the National Curriculum that explicitly incorporates human rights and human dignity can be a powerful tool in enhancing social harmony. AIA believes that a well-crafted rationale should reflect universal human rights values that will assist both teachers and their students to think and act positively for a better world.
The recent National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship years 6 & 10 Report (MCEETYA, 2006) examined students knowledge of civics and citizenship, including human rights issues such as “the rights and responsibilities of citizens in Australia’s democracy” and an understanding of “the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a range of contexts.”.Findings indicated that “Formal, consistent instruction has not been the experience of Australian students in civics and citizenship”, and “Although young Australians appear to accept and appreciate their democracy, their level of knowledge and understanding of civics and citizenship is less than was expected by a range of experts in the field” (p 93) and that “Subsequent National Civics and Citizenship Sample Assessments may show an improvement in student performance if students receive more consistent instruction in civics and citizenship.” (p94).
A major role of the NCB in developing Australia’s first National Curriculum is surely to reflect an understanding of the fundamental conditions that need to be met in order for people to reach their human potential and to work for and achieve the common good.
The explicit articulation of Human Rights in the National Curriculum, we believe, would provide a visionary rationale for our schools that will be very widely accepted and supported by our community. It would provide a basis for educators to frame their work in relation to human rights, ensuring that Australia’s students:
- learn about human rights, developing a broad understanding of rights, informed by historical and contemporary perspectives, by discussion of key concepts and issues and by the stories of people who have made a difference.
- learn for human rights so that they are actively encouraged to “own” human rights values and are equipped to be actively engaged securing a future that is consistent with the vision of human rights
- learning through human rights, experiencing a learning environment which respects the rights of both teachers and learners, so both can experience the fulfilment of their rights through education.
Stay Informed
Related Resources
Get Involved
Amnesty International relies on your support to continue our vital work protecting human rights. Please help us keep governments accountable, bring the guilty to justice, and save lives.
Sitewide information
- Copyright © Amnesty International Australia
- ABN: 640 0280 6233
- Phone: 1300 300 920
Comments
Comments are submitted by members of the public and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Amnesty International Australia. If you find a comment objectionable please contact the web editor.
yvonne santiago
25 January 2010, 08:11PM
add more information about your topics….......thanks
Jarryd
9 July 2009, 04:55PM
Although I am not a big fan of a national curriculum in principle. Should such a curriculum teach kids their rights I’m all for it! It is a sad state of affairs that most people go through 12 years of schooling without learning their basic rights. I myself didn’t even know there was a universal declaration on human rights until year 12!
Sabina Nowak
25 February 2009, 12:54AM
Just as important as knowing where countries are, students should know what rights are and how they should not be taken for granted, especially in comparison to young people their own age around the world (or in remote Australia).
Gary Cachia
24 February 2009, 10:54PM
Students learning about human rights in schools could make a fundamental change to the nature of the Australian psyche in future generations and could prevent future attrocities by Australians both in australia and overseas.
Schools already teach morals to students and history, adding a human rights framework to this will also increase their understanding of their own right and provide respect for other human beings rights.
Barbar Jara-Moore
24 February 2009, 07:19PM
I always start my childcare courses with Human Rights as the framework that all our work embodies - it extends to the Rights of the Child, our Code of Ethics and the policies and procedures that we follow.
To have Human Rights included in the broader education system would be invaluable as an inclusive practice exercise which can only help strengthen our communities.
Page 1 of 1 pages